Wee Barkie a pocket cruiser meauring just over 25' will it get me there

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Re: Wee Barkie a pocket cruiser meauring just over 25' will it get me there

Re: Wee Barkie a pocket cruiser meauring just over 25' will it get me there

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Just finished Wee Barkie's haul out in 24 hours painting both top and bottom. Mind you there where several anxious moments with a substitute operator on the winch . Yepee one step closer to my planned East Coast ,Hobart trip.

Re: Wee Barkie a pocket cruiser meauring just over 25' will it get me there

You are not wrong there ,the difference in speed is even more noticeable in a smaller vessel such as WB . Another way of looking at it that extra speed may well be the difference between hooking up some sushi.

Re: Wee Barkie a pocket cruiser meauring just over 25' will it get me there

Originally Posted by WX

She looks very trim Tom. Beautiful day outside today, wind from the north though.

Our early Wet combined with the regular Northerly's are tempting me to depart earlier. Despite the temptation I still have a long list of jobs to complete on WB and also have to consider Nellie who has never been real happy with my proposed Hobart cruise.

Re: Wee Barkie a pocket cruiser meauring just over 25' will it get me there

Hi Tom,
After being on the beach for a long time, it is a big step to pick up and go. It may even be slightly harder when you have done it before. Certainly doing it as an older gentleman is different from being young. Its unlikely we might have met in '86-7. I was living in Bamfield on the west coast of the Island at that time. I have been in Nanaimo since 2008.....a lot of miles and 8 residential moves since 86-7.

Re: Wee Barkie a pocket cruiser meauring just over 25' will it get me there

[QUOTE=gilberj;5016329]Hi Tom,
After being on the beach for a long time, it is a big step to pick up and go. It may even be slightly harder when you have done it before. Certainly doing it as an older gentleman is different from being young

You may have something there . As experienced cruisers we understand how to get the job done in outfitting the vessel and what to expect once we are underway,however with the rapid development of electronics some of us struggle and fail to use them to their full potential. The upside is superior affordable communication and weather forecasting not to mention emergencies and location.

Reflecting on on my younger carefree sailing days a number of dramatic differences emerge.
Navigation was by sextant , sounder and dr position , sailing in heavy fog into the California Channel Is we sailed until we hit the kelp and then cautiously sounded our way for the next mile into the anchorage.

The Metzler inflatable doubled as a life raft and combined with a motor and a speargun extended our horizons and the cruising kitty which needed replenishing occasionally, after all there was always larger wooden vessels needing a helping hand. Also an important part of our weekly food supply was supplemented with 200 pound test line and some lures
I found using heavy line much easier than fishing rods wth which the vessel always needed to be slowed down not an easy task when one is sailing offshore.

While age may be a state of mind there is no denying sutle changes such as adversity to risk, and physical changes like reduced energy levels , strength, and moving around sure footed.

Another aspect is family which possibly view the coming adventure with as much Angst as my parents did ,which when I took of to go crewing down in Central America in my twenties I just did not register.

Re: Wee Barkie a pocket cruiser meauring just over 25' will it get me there

Originally Posted by skuthorp

Balance also is a factor as you age, that's why acrophobia some times sets in. Any dodgy knees and hips don't help either.

While I had not heard of that one I find myself more preoccupied with how to get back aboard should the unthinkable occur of finding myself over the side while single handing.
Presently the idea is using two tethers and using the second one to reattach myself far enough aft to be able to heave the boat to with pre rigged lines,during this transfer aft the primary line will have to be cut and once the vessel has slowed using pre installed steps to hopefully re board. Trials to be held soon.

Past experience after running aground in Cuba then jumping overboard while push sailing my 30 footer with the help of swells ,proved how difficult it is to re board even a slow moving boat once I managed to get underway despite loose and lufing sails.

Speaking of phobias I have witnessed both nyctopobia and astraphobia while sailing in company these unanticipated results included wild course changes after witnessing heat lightning and nervous break downs while underway.

Jeff I just hope to be in as good a shape if I manage to get to your age .

Re: Wee Barkie a pocket cruiser meauring just over 25' will it get me there

Re: Wee Barkie a pocket cruiser meauring just over 25' will it get me there

I think four press stud fasteners near the bottom of the corners.
Then comes the fun part fitting the skylight which is already looking complex,since I will have to shave the mast step and rebate the forward part of the frame in order to line up the inside with the deck beams.

Re: Wee Barkie a pocket cruiser meauring just over 25' will it get me there

re tethers - there have been some recent threads (sorry don't have the time just now to chase them down - but maybe someone else has)
short answer - you'll probably die if you go over from a boat bigger than one you can drag to a stop
sorry - horrific answer - but you can do the math and check your life insurance goals - and hopefully it all looks the great adventure you would still hope for
frank

Re: Wee Barkie a pocket cruiser meauring just over 25' will it get me there

Originally Posted by RFNK

Tethers should be the right length so that the jack stays keep you on the boat rather than being dragged along beside or behind it.

Rick

I fully agree and like to add jack stays need to be running as close to the centreline of the deck as possible.
However when measuring my tether attachment which is 1300 mm and accounting for jack stay stretch it might not be so easy to stay aboard WB depending on location.

Hugh I installed an outboard hung telescoping swim ladder that can be deployed from the water by pulling hard which overrides the bungee cords should the need arise. My concern with WB raised top sides and enclosed cockpit was the difficulty of re boarding her even while on the mooring or at anchor.

Re: Wee Barkie a pocket cruiser meauring just over 25' will it get me there

I think there's just no point, if solo or short handed, in having a tether that allows you to go overboard so far that you can't climb back in. Tethers are very easy to make, as are jack stays and clipping points.

No one plans to go overboard and it never happens when you expect it. Your tethering system should be designed to prevent you from going over. Alter tether length and consider multiple clipping points.

Re: Wee Barkie a pocket cruiser meauring just over 25' will it get me there

Originally Posted by Frank!

- and it is similarly a small comfort to know, as you slip the wrong side of the gunwale wearing the approved safety harness that you may only have a minute or two of violent desperate life left

test simulations were conducted and a video posted on another thread

While I do not discount the possibility of coming to grief at the end of your tether , the above posted statement may be excessively dramatic and pessimistic.

From real life experience I know that a reasonable fit individual can manage to get back aboard a boat sailing at around three to four knots. Furthermore I should point out had I been tethered this re boarding would have been simplified since all my energy could have been redirected into levering my upper body onto deck rather than also having to hold onto the moving vessel at the same time.

Rick You are quite right regarding a secondary shorter tether and recliping when working on the bow, as always works well in theory . I still have vivid memories of balancing on a pulpit wrestling with the spinnaker pole on a competitive 41 footer I raced on.

Summoning up ,my instinct if a crew member went over on a tether would be to immediately heave to if possible which would assist in recovery.

Re: Wee Barkie a pocket cruiser meauring just over 25' will it get me there

Maybe I'm just clumsy, but I find a tether almost impossible to move about in. Give me 10 or 15 seconds and its around at least one job sheet, plus the main, probably wrapped around a winch, or the mast, or both, likely looped around my neck or ankle as well. And that's a tether of about 1.5 metres, clipping and I clipping as I go. After about 30 seconds of this I give up and lose the tether. The whole thing just seems awfully dangerous to me. I don't wear a tether, I remain suitably frightened, and always hang on with at least one hand. Mostly anyway.

Re: Wee Barkie a pocket cruiser meauring just over 25' will it get me there

When I started using a tether, I found the same thing. Now I use it sparingly. Masina doesn't have furlers so headsail and staysail work involve going forward. So, at night and when in rough water, I clip on when I get to the bow. The clips are clipped onto the harness otherwise. I also clip onto the jack stay when going forward on my own at night and I clip on in the cockpit on night watches. I clip on at the mast when reefing if it's rough. There are a lot of jobs like these that I can't do with one hand.

I think my attitude is that a tether and harness are key safety devices so it's best to get used to them. After a while, you develop a bit of a sixth sense about where the tether is and don't catch it or trip over it as often.

I think cycling clip on shoes are similar. When you first start using them, they're diabolical but once you get used to them, several skin layers later, they're great and make cycling so much easier. Nail bags are like that too - they don't help with sailing of cycling much but they take a lot of getting used to and make working on ladders etc. a lot easier and safer.

Re: Wee Barkie a pocket cruiser meauring just over 25' will it get me there

Embracing the above cited concerns regarding safety and harnesses I have also come to the conclusion that my days of balancing on a bowsprite while under a kite at 12 kn will thankfully not repeated in this lifetime.

One other aspect of cruising is always engine health , and how to deal with the engine not operating while underway. WB sails and handles well under sail ,however what to do if becalmed in shipping lanes with a freighter bearing down on you?

The idea of a sweeping oar occurred to me and since we live close to the Tallebudgera Surf Club I managed to aquire one of their old broken steering sweeps complete with a stainless oar lock. With some minimal stripping the Kevlar collar and scarfing the break It will be good as new.

Re: Wee Barkie a pocket cruiser meauring just over 25' will it get me there

Originally Posted by auscruisertom

I would suggest checking with your local surf club, there are many of these older broken wooden sweeps and oars hanging around..

At 6.5 m this yuloh could also turn WB into a yawl, also it will be interesting to check out the sweeps health underneath the Kevlar collar.

I have a surf boat oar that I bought from Jeff but when my friend was looking for something to make his yuloh out of, I gave him the flag pole. If he'd known I had the oar, he probably would have wanted that but I wouldn't have given it to him . I want to use it in the house. Anyway, he's having plenty of fun making his yuloh ....... I expect.